Sadly, this book was a pretty big disappointment to me. I kept going to the end because it was a quick read, but I really did not care about any of the characters or what happened to them. It just felt like a lot of talking, some brief bouts of gunplay, and some weird stuff thrown in as a twist. Also, there are NO interesting female characters--or at least, they are not interesting in the way they're portrayed. Surprising from such a talented author, but I guess anyone can have a project that just doesn't live up to its potential. ( )

An irresistible plot involving as streamline approach to the O.K. Corral gunfight. The story, which follows the consumptive Doc Holliday, draws you in and pulls you along as he allies himself with the Earps and Bat Masterson as they square off against the Clantons and Mclaureys and an erudite zombie Johnny Ringo as they protect inventor Thomas Edison. ( )

I'm not a huge fan of westerns, alternate history, or steampunk, but I am a huge fan of Mike Resnick so I decided to trust him. And I was not led astray. It's 1881 and Thomas Edison lives in Tombstone, Arizona, designing fantastic inventions for Ned Buntline to construct. The Earps are in town, and Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday and a bunch of other famous characters from the time period, plus cyborgs and zombies and vampires. Because why not. It's not really steampunk - it's all electricity, not steam - but the aesthetic is similar. I think this story might have been better had it been entirely fictional characters, but I've read enough fiction about Doc Holliday to appreciate him as an amusingly sardonic antihero. Looking forward to the rest of the series. ( )

Ugggh. Steampunk goes west, old time cowboys and steampunk inventions. Sounds great doesn't it. To bad the book never reached that potential. I almost put the book down when it had a young Thomas Edison with a mechanical arm in Tombstone. They then bring in Doc Holliday, the Earp brothers, Geronimo and various other real life characters. It just never did have any punch or wow factors for me. There's gunfights, Indian medicine men who do magic, a zombie, a vampire. But they never do much with any of them. I guess I just really dislike this book. I tried to suspend my disbelief but it never got there. Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson are called upon by the Earp brothers who are trying to protect Thomas Edison from the local Indians. One of them gets turned into a vampire bat and the other has to face down a zombie gunslinger. Those are the high points of the book. ( )

A great read. One of the most interesting and enteraing stories I have read in a long time. I really enjoyed the alternative reality this story offered and it was fascinating to read up on the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson and many others. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I found it to be a steady page turner and having short chapters helped to make this a really easy, enjoyabe and quick read. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series. ( )